How Can You Stand Out as an AI Engineer in a Competitive Job Market?

Palak Sharma
DataDrivenInvestor
Published in
4 min readJun 28, 2023

--

Here are some essential steps and tips to successfully land a job as an AI Engineer.

Embarking on a career in AI engineering can be an exciting and rewarding journey. AI is expected to contribute up to USD 15.7 trillion to the global market by 2030, more than the combined output provided by China and India at present. The statistics themselves are living proof of the rising demand for AI engineers in the future. This guide will outline a structured approach to help you navigate the path toward becoming an AI engineer, providing you with valuable insights and essential steps to kickstart your career in this dynamic field. Before moving to the essential steps, let’s revise the meaning and role of AI engineers.

Who is an AI engineer?

There are several roles that you would serve while building a career in AI.

· ML Researcher

You will typically investigate the hypothetical side of AI while performing this role where you will facilitate the enhancement of innovation and apply it to new territories.

· Program Manager

As you perform this role, you will be applying AI to a provided set of information. This will require you to possess math and strong programming skills.

· Data Mining and Information Analysis Engineers

Your role for this designation involves modeling and creating deep learning systems that can identify and react to patterns.

· AI Engineer

AI spreads to everything else related to AI, like specific AI applications in industries. In simple terms, it means you will be using AI methods to do tasks or solve problems in a business environment.

Important Steps to Become an AI Engineer

Step 1: Understand the Fundamentals of AI

To begin your journey, you need to develop a strong foundation in the fundamentals of artificial intelligence. You will need to gain a comprehensive understanding of concepts such as machine learning, neural networks, deep learning, and natural language processing.

Explore online tutorials, AI courses, and textbooks to grasp the core principles and techniques that power AI systems. You can pursue a degree in various subjects such as Computer Science, Mathematics, Information Technology, Statistics, Finance, and Economics. Your academic performance, reflected by your marks, is a testament to your dedication. Therefore, aiming for a good GPA can only work in your favor.

Step 2: Learn Programming and Data Science

To become an AI engineer, you need to have proficiency in programming languages and data science. You should start by learning popular languages like Python programming, which AI development extensively relies on. You should have to build deep learning models and train AI neural networks for which you need to gain knowledge on popular libraries such as TensorFlow, Keras, and PyTorch. Additionally, you can delve into data science concepts, including data preprocessing, statistical analysis, and data visualization techniques.

Step 3: Build Your Business Skills

If you want to pursue a career in AI, having more than just technical skills is important. You must also possess certain soft skills. These include innovative reasoning, which is crucial for thinking creatively and outside the box in AI development. Problem-solving skills are also highly important, as AI is all about solving complex human problems. Additionally, the ability to work well in a team is a virtue that shouldn’t be underestimated, as teamwork is highly valued in the technology industry, including AI. It’s also essential to comprehensively understand the AI industry and its related areas to succeed as an AI engineer.

Step 4: Build Real-World Projects

As a potential AI engineer, you need to work on building a diverse portfolio which involves working on projects and earning AI certifications to attract your employers. You need to apply your knowledge and skills by working on real-world AI projects. Start with small-scale projects to solidify your understanding and gradually take on more complex challenges. Collaborate with other AI enthusiasts to gain exposure to different perspectives and approaches.

Step 5: Earn Artificial Intelligence Engineering Certifications

Earning an AI certification will help you demonstrate your avant-garde skills in developing AI and ML applications across a variety of situations and help you grab handsome salary packages. According to Indeed, you can expect an average annual salary of around US$110,000 as an Artificial Intelligence Engineer. The salary range typically falls between US$105,244 as the minimum and US$144,611 as the maximum. It also proves that you are ahead of the curve in NLP, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and several other competencies. The following are some artificial intelligence engineering certifications you can consider earning:

· Artificial Intelligence Engineer (AiE™) certification by ARTiBA

· Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate

· IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate

· Artificial Intelligence- edX

Step 6: Stay Updated and Continuously Learn

The field of AI is ever-evolving, with new breakthroughs and advancements emerging regularly. Stay updated by reading research papers, attending conferences, and following renowned AI experts and influencers. Join online communities and discussion forums to engage in knowledge-sharing and stay informed about the latest trends and developments.

Conclusion

Becoming an AI engineer requires a systematic approach and continuous learning. By following these essential steps, you can lay a strong foundation in AI, gain hands-on experience, and keep up with the dynamic nature of the field. Embrace the challenges and opportunities that come your way, and with dedication and perseverance, you can forge a successful career as an AI engineer in the exciting world of artificial intelligence.

Subscribe to DDIntel Here.

Visit our website here: https://www.datadriveninvestor.com

Join our network here: https://datadriveninvestor.com/collaborate

--

--

Data Scientist — Keeping up with Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. AI/ML Enthusiast. #DataScience #BigData #AI #MachineLearning